Pulsing adiabatic gas cooler

ABSTRACT

A method by a controller of a cooling system includes calculating a difference between a first temperature of ambient air and a second temperature of pre-cooled air. The pre-cooled air is ambient air that has been cooled by water from a water distribution system before it enters one or more condenser coils. The method further includes determining that the difference between the first and second temperatures is less than or equal to a predetermined temperature difference, and in response, determining that the first temperature is greater than or equal to a minimum temperature. The method further includes, if the first temperature is greater than or equal to the minimum temperature, instructing the water distribution system to distribute the water to pre-cool the ambient air for a predetermined length of time and to disable the distribution of the water after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/401,631 filed Aug. 13, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/477,634 filed Apr. 3, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.11,143,468, issued Oct. 12, 2021 by Fardis Najafifard, and entitled“Pulsing Adiabatic Gas Cooler,” which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates in general to gas coolers, and more particularlyto a pulsing adiabatic gas cooler.

BACKGROUND

Cooling systems are used in many types of residential and commercialapplications. As one example, commercial refrigeration systems are usedby many types of businesses such as supermarkets and warehouses. Manycooling systems utilize adiabatic cooling processes where water isutilized to cool air before it enters an outdoor condenser unit. Suchsystems may be inefficient and wasteful of water resources.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, an evaporative cooling system includes aplurality of condenser coils, a water distribution system, a pluralityof sensors, and a controller. The water distribution system is operableto provide a spray of water to pre-cool ambient air before it enters thecondenser coils. The plurality of sensors includes a first sensor and asecond sensor. The first sensor is operable to sense a first temperatureof the ambient air. The second sensor is operable to sense a secondtemperature of the pre-cooled air. The controller is communicativelycoupled to the water distribution system and the first and secondsensors. The controller is operable to calculate an amount oftemperature difference between the first and second temperatures and todetermine that the amount of temperature difference between the firstand second temperatures is less than or equal to a predeterminedtemperature difference. The controller is further operable to, inresponse to determining that the amount of temperature differencebetween the first and second temperatures is less than or equal to thepredetermined temperature difference, determine that the firsttemperature is greater than or equal to a minimum temperature. Thecontroller is further operable to, in response to determining that thefirst temperature is greater than or equal to the minimum temperature,instruct the water distribution system to enable the spray of water tospray for a predetermined length of time. The controller is furtheroperable to instruct the water distribution system to disable the sprayof water after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

According to another embodiment, a method implemented by a controller ofa cooling system includes calculating an amount of temperaturedifference between a first temperature of ambient air and a secondtemperature of pre-cooled air. The pre-cooled air comprises ambient airthat has been cooled by water from a water distribution system before itenters one or more condenser coils. The method further includesdetermining that the amount of temperature difference between the firstand second temperatures is less than or equal to a predeterminedtemperature difference. The method further includes, in response todetermining that the amount of temperature difference between the firstand second temperatures is less than or equal to the predeterminedtemperature difference, determining that the first temperature isgreater than or equal to a minimum temperature. The method furtherincludes, in response to determining that the first temperature isgreater than or equal to the minimum temperature, instructing the waterdistribution system to distribute the water to pre-cool the ambient airfor a predetermined length of time. The method further includesinstructing the water distribution system to disable the distribution ofthe water after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

Technical advantages of certain embodiments may include providingenhanced functionality in an evaporative or adiabatic cooling systemthat permits the system to run more efficiently, thereby conservingresources such as electricity and natural gas. In addition, the enhancedfunctionality provided to evaporative or adiabatic cooling systems byenclosed embodiments reduces water usage and waste, thereby conservingnatural resources. Other technical advantages will be readily apparentto one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, andclaims. Moreover, while specific advantages have been enumerated above,various embodiments may include all, some, or none of the enumeratedadvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a gas cooling system, according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the gas cooling system of FIG. 1 ,according to certain embodiments; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a method that may be utilized by the gas coolingsystem of FIG. 1 to conserve resources, according to certainembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Gas cooling systems are used in many types of residential and commercialapplications. As one example, commercial refrigeration systems are usedby many types of businesses such as supermarkets and warehouses. Manycooling systems utilize adiabatic cooling processes where water isutilized to pre-cool air before it enters an outdoor condenser unit. Forexample, large commercial refrigeration systems may utilize coolingtowers where water is used to pre-cool air before it flows throughcondenser coils. While pre-cooling air with water aids in the overallefficiency of cooling systems, many such systems continue to spray orotherwise use water when it is not needed. As one example, many systemscontinue to spray water when it is raining. This wastes water resourcesand contributes to the overall inefficiency of the system.

To address these and other problems with certain gas cooling systems,embodiments of the disclosure utilize at least two sensors to determinewhen to utilize water to pre-cool air before it enters condenser coils.For example, some embodiments compare temperatures of ambient andpre-cooled air and then only spray water when the difference between thetwo temperatures becomes lower than a certain amount. This selective“pulsing” of water enables adiabatic gas cooling systems to conserveresources such as water and electricity and therefore have greaterefficiency. The following describes pulsing adiabatic gas cooler systemsand methods for providing these and other desired features.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate portions of a gas cooling system 100, accordingto certain embodiments. In some embodiments, gas cooling system 100includes a water distribution system 105, a condenser unit 110, two ormore sensors 120, condenser coils 130, a fan 160, and a controller 170.Water distribution system 105 provides water to gas cooling system 100via, for example, a water spray 140. Water from water distributionsystem 105 generates pre-cooled air 104 by cooling ambient air 102before it enters condenser unit 110. Controller 170 is communicativelycoupled to sensors 120 and water distribution system 105 and controlsfunctions of gas cooling system 100 as described herein.

In general, gas cooling system 100 utilizes information from sensors 120to control when to utilize water spray 140 to pre-cool ambient air 102before it enters condenser unit 110. In some embodiments, for example,controller 170 may determine a temperature of ambient air 102 from afirst sensor 120A, and a temperature of pre-cooled air 104 from a secondsensor 120B. Controller 170 may then calculate a temperature differencebetween the temperature of ambient air 102 and the temperature ofpre-cooled air 104. Controller 170 may then instruct water distributionsystem 105 to provide water spray 140 only when the temperaturedifference becomes lower than a certain pre-set temperature. The pre-settemperature may be set depending on the overall design of gas coolingsystem 100 and the specific geographic location of gas cooling system100. As a specific example, water spray 140 may only be enabled when thetemperature difference becomes lower than 5° F. Controller 170 may thenthen instruct water distribution system 105 to disable water spray 140after spraying for a specific amount of time (e.g., one minute). Byutilizing water from water distribution system 105 to pre-cool ambientair 102 only under certain conditions, gas cooling system 100 conservesresources such as water and electricity.

Condenser unit 110 is any typical unit used to cool a refrigerant bycondensing it from its gaseous state to its liquid state. In mostcommercial refrigeration applications, condenser unit 110 is locatedoutdoors and is fluidly coupled to indoor portions of gas cooling system100 (e.g., air handlers) via one or more refrigerant lines. In someembodiments, condenser unit 110 is a cooling tower. Condenser unit 110typically includes multiple condenser coils 130 and motors that turnfans 160. Fans 160 draw ambient air 102 or pre-cooled air 104 throughcondenser coils 130, thereby cooling and condensing the refrigerant andproviding cooling to gas cooling system 100.

Water distribution system 105 is any appropriate system capable ofdelivering water to condenser unit 110. In some embodiments, waterdistribution system 105 includes one or more pumps. In some embodiments,water distribution system 105 provides one or more water sprays 140 thatare directed to an area around condenser unit 110 in order to pre-coolambient air 102 before it enters condenser unit 110. While a specificconfiguration of water distribution system 105 and water spray 140 isillustrated in FIG. 1 , any appropriate configuration known in the artmay be utilized.

Sensors 120 are any appropriate sensors for sensing and detectingconditions of air. In some embodiments, sensors 120 are thermometers. Inother embodiments, sensors 120 are capable of sensing conditions inaddition to temperature (e.g., humidity). In the illustratedembodiments, gas cooling system 100 includes two sensors 120: firstsensor 120A and second sensor 120B. Sensor 120A is located in anyappropriate location to sense conditions of ambient air 102. In someembodiments, sensor 120A is coupled to or located within condenser unit110, but in other embodiments may be located remotely from condenserunit 110. Sensor 120B is located in any appropriate location to senseconditions of pre-cooled air 104. In some embodiments, sensor 120B doesnot get wet from water from water distribution system 105. Asillustrated in FIG. 2 , some embodiments may include sensor 120B that islocated proximate to condenser coils 130 within the flow of pre-cooledair 104 (e.g., before pre-cooled air 104 enters condenser coils 130). Inother embodiments, sensor 120B may be installed in a location in whichit gets wet from water from water distribution system 105. Sensors 120may store measured air conditions either internally (e.g., in internalmemory) or in memory that is remote from sensors 120 (e.g., withincontroller 170).

In some embodiments, condenser unit 110 may include one or more panels150 for use in generating pre-cooled air 104, as illustrated in FIG. 2 .Each panel 150 may be any appropriate material that is capable ofreceiving and retaining water from water distribution system 105. As aspecific example, panel 150 may be a mesh material through which ambientair 102 passes before it enters condenser coils 130. As ambient air 102passes through the wet mesh material of panel 150, it cools and becomespre-cooled air 104. Panels 150 may be in any appropriate configurationand are not limited to those illustrated in FIG. 2 . For example, panels150 may be affixed directly to the side of condenser coils 130 in someembodiments.

Controller 170 is any appropriate device or circuitry that controlsfunctions of gas cooling system 100. Controller 170 may be within orcoupled to condenser unit 110, or it may be separate from condenser unit110 in some embodiments. In some embodiments, controller 170 is acircuit board within condenser unit 110.

In some embodiments, controller 170 includes an interface, one or morememory devices, and a processor. Controller 170 may also includeadditional components typically included within a controller for acooling system, such as a power supply, relays, and the like. Theinterface of controller 170 may be a conventional interface that is usedto receive and transmit data for a controller, such as amicro-controller.

The one or more memory devices of controller 170 may store operatinginstructions to direct the operation of the processor of controller 170when initiated thereby. In some embodiments, the memory of controller170, or at least of portion thereof, is a non-volatile memory. Theoperating instructions may correspond to algorithms that provide thefunctionality of the methods and algorithms disclosed herein. Forexample, the operating instructions may correspond to the algorithm oralgorithms that implement the methods illustrated in FIG. 3 . In someembodiments, the processor of controller 170 may be a microprocessor.The interface, processor, and memory of controller 170 may be coupledtogether via conventional means to communicate information.

In operation, gas cooling system 100 utilizes information from sensors120 (e.g., temperatures) to control when to utilize water from waterdistribution system 105 to pre-cool ambient air 102 before it enterscondenser unit 110. In some embodiments, for example, controller 170 maydetermine a temperature of ambient air 102 from first sensor 120A and atemperature of pre-cooled air 104 from second sensor 120B. Controller170 may then calculate a temperature difference between the temperatureof ambient air 102 and the temperature of pre-cooled air 104. Controller170 may then instruct water distribution system 105 to provide water(e.g., water spray 140) only when the temperature difference becomesequal to or lower than a certain pre-set temperature. Controller 170 maythen then instruct water distribution system 105 to disable water spray140 after spraying for a specific amount of time (e.g., one minute).

In some embodiments, controller 170 instructs water distribution system105 to provide water spray 140 when the difference between thetemperature of ambient air 102 and pre-cooled air 104 becomes lower than5° F. However, this pre-set temperature is configurable and may dependon various factors such as the overall design of gas cooling system 100and the specific geographic location of gas cooling system 100. As anexample, if gas cooling system 100 is located in a hot, dry environment,water spray 140 may be enabled when the temperature difference becomeslower than 7° F. As another example, if gas cooling system 100 islocated in a cool, wet environment, water spray 140 may be enabled whenthe temperature difference becomes lower than 3° F. In some embodiments,controller 170 may automatically determine the pre-set temperature usinginformation such as GPS coordinates obtained wirelessly using areceiver. In other embodiments, an operator may configure the pre-settemperature using a user interface. While specific pre-set temperatureshave been listed herein, the pre-set temperature may be any appropriatetemperature to operate gas cooling system 100 efficiently (e.g., 0.1-.9degrees, 1.0-9.9 degrees, etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method 300 that may be utilized by gascooling system 100 of FIG. 1 to control when water from waterdistribution system 105 is utilized to pre-cool ambient air 102, therebyproviding pre-cooled air 104 to condenser coils 130. Method 300 maybegin in step 310 where it is determined whether a temperature of theambient air is greater than or equal to a minimum temperature. In someembodiments, the temperature of the ambient air is determined from asensor such as first sensor 120A. In some embodiments, the minimumtemperature is a pre-set minimum temperature (e.g., 78° F.). The pre-setminimum temperature may be configurable in some embodiments. Forexample, an operator may configure the pre-set minimum temperature usinga user interface. If the temperature of the ambient air is greater thanor equal to the minimum temperature, method 300 proceeds to step 330.Otherwise, if the temperature of the ambient air is less than theminimum temperature, method 300 proceeds to step 320.

In some embodiments, step 310 may alternatively include determining anamount of humidity of ambient air 102. For example, sensor 120A mayinclude a humidity sensor that senses the amount of humidity of ambientair 102. Controller 170 may determine the amount of humidity of ambientair 102 from sensor 120A and then use it to determine whether to proceedto step 320 or 330. For example, if the amount of humidity from sensor120A is 100% (or greater than a configurable amount of humidity such as95% humidity), method 300 may proceed to step 320 where water is notutilized to pre-cool the ambient air. Otherwise, if the amount ofhumidity from sensor 120A is less than 100% (or less than a configurableamount of humidity such as 95% humidity), method 300 may proceed to step330 where water is utilized to pre-cool the ambient air.

At step 320, method 300 instructs a water distribution such as waterdistribution system 105 not to distribute water to the cooling system.For example, controller 170 may instruct water distribution system 105in this step to disable water spray 140. After step 320, method 300proceeds back to the start of method 300 (e.g., step 310).

At step 330, method 300 instructs a water distribution such as waterdistribution system 105 to distribute water to the cooling system for acertain amount of time. For example, controller 170 may instruct waterdistribution system 105 in this step to enable water spray 140 for apredetermined length of time (e.g., one minute). The length of time thatwater spray 140 is enabled in this step may be configurable in someembodiments. For example, an operator may configure the predeterminedlength of time using a user interface. After the predetermined length oftime has elapsed, controller 170 instructs water distribution system 105to disable water spray 140.

At step 340, method 300 determines whether the ambient air temperatureequals a temperature of the pre-cooled air. In some embodiments, thetemperature of the ambient air (e.g., ambient air 102) is determined byfirst sensor 120A, and the temperature of the pre-cooled air (e.g.,pre-cooled air 104) is determined by second sensor 120B. In someembodiments, the ambient air temperature is determined to equal thetemperature of the pre-cooled air in this step if the ambient airtemperature is substantially equal to the temperature of the pre-cooledair (e.g., within 0-5% of the temperature of the pre-cooled air). Inother embodiments, controller 170 may utilize other methods to determineif it is raining in step 340. For example, controller 170 may receiveweather information from a rain sensor or other sources (e.g., weatherradar information from the Internet or from a radio receiver) in orderto determine whether it is currently raining. If it is determined inthis step that the ambient air temperature equals or substantiallyequals the temperature of the pre-cooled air, method 300 determines thatit is currently raining and proceeds to step 350. If it is determined inthis step that the ambient air temperature does not equal orsubstantially equal the temperature of the pre-cooled air, method 300proceeds to step 360.

In some embodiments, controller 170 may utilize other methods todetermine if it is raining in step 340. For example, controller 170 mayreceive weather information from a rain sensor or other sources (e.g.,weather radar information from the Internet or from a radio receiver) inorder to determine whether it is currently raining. If it is determinedin step 340 that it is raining, method 300 proceeds to step 350. If itis determined in this step that it is not raining, method 300 proceedsto step 360.

At step 350, method 300 waits for a certain amount of time and thenproceeds back to the start of method 300 (e.g., step 310). For example,method 300 may wait thirty minutes in this step before proceeding backto step 310. Other embodiments may wait other amounts of time. Waiting acertain amount of time in this step may allow it to stop raining. Thelength of time that method 300 waits in step 350 may be configurable insome embodiments. For example, an operator may configure the amount ofwait time using a user interface. In other embodiments, controller 170may utilize similar methods as described above in step 340 to determineif it is still raining and then automatically adjust the amount of timeto wait in step 350. More specifically, controller 170 may receiveweather information from a rain sensor or other sources (e.g., weatherradar information from the Internet or from a radio receiver) in orderto determine whether it is currently still raining and then adjust theamount of time to wait in step 350. For example, controller 170 maystart a countdown timer when entering step 350. Once the timer hascounted a certain amount of time (e.g., thirty minutes), controller 170may communicate with a rain sensor to determine if it is still rainingin this step. If controller 170 determines that it is still raining,controller 170 may return to the beginning of step 350 (e.g, restart thecountdown timer).

At step 360, method 300 calculates an amount of temperature differencebetween the ambient air temperature and the pre-cooled air temperature.For example, controller 170 may determine a first temperature of ambientair 102 from sensor 120A and a second temperature of pre-cooled air 104from sensor 120B and then calculate an amount of difference between thefirst and second temperatures. After calculating the temperaturedifference between the ambient air temperature and the pre-cooled airtemperature, method 300 proceeds to step 370.

At step 370, method 300 determines whether the amount of temperaturedifference between the ambient air temperature and the pre-cooled airtemperature calculated in step 360 is less than or equal to apredetermined temperature difference. In some embodiments, thepredetermined temperature difference is 5° F. However, thispredetermined temperature difference is configurable (e.g.,automatically by controller 170 or by an operator) and may depend onvarious factors such as the overall design of the system and thespecific geographic location of the system. If it is determined in step370 that the amount of temperature difference between the ambient airtemperature and the pre-cooled air temperature is less than or equal tothe predetermined temperature difference, method 300 proceeds back tostep 310. If it is determined in step 370 that the amount of temperaturedifference between the ambient air temperature and the pre-cooled airtemperature is greater than the predetermined temperature difference,method 300 proceeds back to step 320.

Some embodiments may utilize alternate methods for various steps ofmethod 300. As one example, some embodiments may in steps 360 and 370utilize a calculated temperature difference between a wet bulbtemperature and the pre-cooled air temperature to determine when tospray water using water distribution system 105. As another example,some embodiments may in steps 360 and 370 utilize changes to refrigerantoutlet temperatures or pressure to determine when to spray water usingwater distribution system 105. Some embodiments may use compressor(s)power usage or frequency to determine when to spray water using waterdistribution system 105. Some embodiments may use a humidity sensor atthe air outlet of gas cooling system 100 to determine when to spraywater using water distribution system 105.

Particular embodiments may repeat one or more steps of method 300 ofFIG. 3 , where appropriate. Although this disclosure describes andillustrates particular steps of method 300 of FIG. 3 as occurring in aparticular order, this disclosure contemplates any suitable steps ofmethod 300 occurring in any suitable order. Moreover, although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates particular steps of method 300 ofFIG. 3 , this disclosure contemplates any suitable method forcontrolling water flow in gas cooling system including any suitablesteps, which may include all, some, or none of the steps of method 300,where appropriate. Furthermore, although this disclosure describes andillustrates particular components, devices, or systems carrying outparticular steps of method 300, this disclosure contemplates anysuitable combination of any suitable components, devices, or systemscarrying out any suitable steps of method 300.

The components of gas cooling system 100 may be integrated or separated.In some embodiments, components of gas cooling system 100 may each behoused within a single enclosure. The operations of gas cooling system100 may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally,operations of gas cooling system 100 may be performed using any suitablelogic that may comprise software, hardware, other logic, one or moreprocessors, or any suitable combination of the preceding.

Herein, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium or media mayinclude one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits(ICs) (such, as for example, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) orapplication-specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid harddrives (HHDs), optical discs, optical disc drives (ODDs),magneto-optical discs, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppydisk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs),RAM-drives, SECURE DIGITAL cards or drives, any other suitablecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media, or any suitablecombination of two or more of these, where appropriate. Acomputer-readable non-transitory storage medium may be volatile,non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, whereappropriate.

Herein, “or” is inclusive and not exclusive, unless expressly indicatedotherwise or indicated otherwise by context. Therefore, herein, “A or B”means “A, B, or both,” unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicatedotherwise by context. Moreover, “and” is both joint and several, unlessexpressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.Therefore, herein, “A and B” means “A and B, jointly or severally,”unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.

The scope of this disclosure encompasses all changes, substitutions,variations, alterations, and modifications to the example embodimentsdescribed or illustrated herein that a person having ordinary skill inthe art would comprehend. The scope of this disclosure is not limited tothe example embodiments described or illustrated herein. Moreover,although this disclosure describes and illustrates respectiveembodiments herein as including particular components, elements,functions, operations, or steps, any of these embodiments may includeany combination or permutation of any of the components, elements,functions, operations, or steps described or illustrated anywhere hereinthat a person having ordinary skill in the art would comprehend.Furthermore, reference in the appended claims to an apparatus or systemor a component of an apparatus or system being adapted to, arranged to,capable of, configured to, enabled to, operable to, or operative toperform a particular function encompasses that apparatus, system,component, whether or not it or that particular function is activated,turned on, or unlocked, as long as that apparatus, system, or componentis so adapted, arranged, capable, configured, enabled, operable, oroperative.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An evaporative cooling system, comprising:a plurality of condenser coils; one or more panels affixed to theplurality of condenser coils, wherein each panel of the one or morepanels is operable to receive and retain water provided by a waterdistribution system; the water distribution system operable to providewater to pre-cool ambient air before the ambient air enters theplurality of condenser coils; a plurality of sensors comprising: a firstsensor operable to sense a first temperature of the ambient air; and asecond sensor operable to sense a second temperature of the pre-cooledair; and a controller communicatively coupled to the water distributionsystem and the first and second sensors, the controller operable to:calculate an amount of temperature difference between the first andsecond temperatures; determine a predetermined temperature differencebased on a geographical location of the evaporative cooling system;determine that the amount of temperature difference between the firstand second temperatures is less than or equal to the predeterminedtemperature difference; in response to determining that the amount oftemperature difference between the first and second temperatures is lessthan or equal to the predetermined temperature difference, determinethat the first temperature is greater than or equal to a minimumtemperature; in response to determining that the first temperature isgreater than or equal to the minimum temperature, instruct the waterdistribution system to enable the water for a predetermined length oftime; and instruct the water distribution system to disable the waterafter the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.
 2. The evaporativecooling system of claim 1, wherein: the predetermined temperaturedifference is five degrees Fahrenheit; and the minimum temperature is 78degrees Fahrenheit.
 3. The evaporative cooling system of claim 1,wherein the predetermined length of time is one minute.
 4. Theevaporative cooling system of claim 1, the controller further operableto: determine that the amount of temperature difference between thefirst and second temperatures is greater than the predetermined amount;and in response to determining that the amount of temperature differencebetween the first and second temperatures is greater than thepredetermined amount, instruct the water distribution system to disablethe water.
 5. The evaporative cooling system of claim 1, the controllerfurther operable to: determine that it is raining by determining thatthe first temperature equals the second temperature; and in response todetermining that the first temperature equals the second temperature,instruct the water distribution system to disable the water for acertain amount of time.
 6. The evaporative cooling system of claim 1,the controller further operable to: determine that the first temperatureis less than the minimum temperature; and in response to determiningthat the first temperature is less than the minimum temperature,instruct the water distribution system to disable the water.
 7. Theevaporative cooling system of claim 1, wherein the controller is furtheroperable to determine the geographical location of the evaporativecooling system using GPS coordinates.
 8. The evaporative cooling systemof claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature difference is between0.1 and 9.9 degrees Fahrenheit.
 9. A method, comprising: by a controllerof a cooling system, calculating an amount of temperature differencebetween a first temperature of ambient air and a second temperature ofpre-cooled air, the pre-cooled air comprising ambient air that has beencooled by water from a water distribution system before the ambient airenters one or more condenser coils of the cooling system, wherein thecooling system comprises one or more panels affixed to the one or morecondenser coils, wherein each panel of the one or more panels isoperable to receive and retain water provided by the water distributionsystem; by the controller of the cooling system, determining apredetermined temperature difference based on a geographical location ofthe cooling system; by the controller of the cooling system, determiningthat the amount of temperature difference between the first and secondtemperatures is less than or equal to the predetermined temperaturedifference; by the controller of the cooling system, in response todetermining that the amount of temperature difference between the firstand second temperatures is less than or equal to the predeterminedtemperature difference, determining that the first temperature isgreater than or equal to a minimum temperature; by the controller of thecooling system, in response to determining that the first temperature isgreater than or equal to the minimum temperature, instructing the waterdistribution system to distribute the water to pre-cool the ambient airfor a predetermined length of time; and by the controller of the coolingsystem, instructing the water distribution system to disable thedistribution of the water after the predetermined amount of time haselapsed.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein: the predeterminedtemperature difference is five degrees Fahrenheit; and the minimumtemperature is 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
 11. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising: by the controller of the cooling system, determining thatthe amount of temperature difference between the first and secondtemperatures is greater than the predetermined amount; and by thecontroller of the cooling system, in response to determining that theamount of temperature difference between the first and secondtemperatures is greater than the predetermined amount, instructing thewater distribution system to disable the water.
 12. The method of claim9, further comprising: by the controller of the cooling system,determining that it is raining by determining that the first temperatureequals the second temperature; and by the controller of the coolingsystem, in response to determining that the first temperature equals thesecond temperature, instructing the water distribution system to disablethe water for a certain amount of time.
 13. The method of claim 9,further comprising: by the controller of the cooling system, determiningthat the first temperature is less than the minimum temperature; and bythe controller of the cooling system, in response to determining thatthe first temperature is less than the minimum temperature, instructingthe water distribution system to disable the water.
 14. One or morecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media in one or more computingsystems, the media embodying logic that is operable when executed to:calculate an amount of temperature difference between a firsttemperature of ambient air and a second temperature of pre-cooled air,the pre-cooled air comprising ambient air that has been cooled by waterfrom a water distribution system before the ambient air enters one ormore condenser coils of a cooling system, wherein the cooling systemcomprises one or more panels affixed to the one or more condenser coils,wherein each panel of the one or more panels is operable to receive andretain water provided by the water distribution system; determine apredetermined temperature difference based on a geographical location ofthe cooling system; determine that the amount of temperature differencebetween the first and second temperatures is less than or equal to thepredetermined temperature difference; in response to determining thatthe amount of temperature difference between the first and secondtemperatures is less than or equal to the predetermined temperaturedifference, determine that the first temperature is greater than orequal to a minimum temperature; in response to determining that thefirst temperature is greater than or equal to the minimum temperature,instruct the water distribution system to distribute the water topre-cool the ambient air for a predetermined length of time; andinstruct the water distribution system to disable the distribution ofthe water after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed.
 15. Themedia of claim 14, wherein: the predetermined temperature difference isfive degrees Fahrenheit; the minimum temperature is 78 degreesFahrenheit; and the predetermined length of time is one minute.
 16. Themedia of claim 14, the logic further operable when executed to:determine that the amount of temperature difference between the firstand second temperatures is greater than the predetermined amount; and inresponse to determining that the amount of temperature differencebetween the first and second temperatures is greater than thepredetermined amount, instruct the water distribution system to disablethe water.
 17. The media of claim 14, the logic further operable whenexecuted to: determine that it is raining by determining that the firsttemperature equals the second temperature; and by the control unit ofthe cooling system, in response to determining that the firsttemperature equals the second temperature, instruct the waterdistribution system to disable the water for a certain amount of time.18. The media of claim 14, the logic further operable when executed to:determine that the first temperature is less than the minimumtemperature; and in response to determining that the first temperatureis less than the minimum temperature, instruct the water distributionsystem to disable the water.